04 July 2011

I called H I Salon on Wednesday to make an appointment with Xiao Yan and a guy said she has gone back to China.

Salon’s Atmosphere

On a Sunny Friday afternoon, when I stepped in to H I Salon, once I said rebonding, Joanne came to me. I did not say anything about Xiao Yan, she was the one mentioning that Xiao Yan left about 5 months ago.

I was the only customer. There were 2 male and 4 female stylists. 2 females sat at the dressing tables behind me. 1 female sat at the dressing table beside me. 1 male sat at the cashier counter. 1 male was at the washing chair area.

As Joanne was doing my hair, she and all the stylists shouted across the salon chit chatting, gossiping, quarrelling and arguing. The older stylist that sat beside me had a big and high pitch voice. Her loud and piercing voice hurted my ears so much. They talked nonstop, except for the male at the washing chair area.

They bought hainanese chicken rice for lunch. Joanne ate at the counter. The older stylist ate at the dressing table beside me, which the strong smell of the chicken and chilly choked me.

This older stylist kept sweeping the floor and grumbled that “boss said want to come, from morning till now have not come.” She was unhappy that she had to sweep the floor so many times. I wonder if their boss is not visiting the salon, she will leave the floor flooded with hair.

They are so particular in whose turn to serve the customers. When each customer walked in, they argued and checked on a list at the counter to see whose turn is it. If they see it is not their turn, they will hide themselves.

When a customer wanted Ah Koon to cut his hair, he showed an unhappy face throughout the cut as it was not his turn.

I noticed the other male stylist has a good attitude. He is the quiet and soft spoken type. He did his job with a smile and never showed unhappiness when the customers requested for him. When he was having his late lunch, a customer asked for him. Ah Koon told the customer to wait 5 minutes for this guy to finish his lunch, but he immediately went to the customer. He put his lunch away twice when 2 different customers asked for him. He should wash his hands as it is unhygienic to touch the oily packet of rice and then touch the customers' hair.

Let’s talk about Shiseido Hair Rebonding

Xiao Yan vs Joanne

Shiseido Hair Rebonding done by Xiao Yan

I did a Shiseido Hair Rebonding at this salon beginning of last year. It was by a China stylist Xiao Yan. She was very skilful and detailed. I told her I wanted a very flat and straight hair. She did not disappoint me.

She used 2 bowls of hair treatment to apply on my hair till it was covered in thick white cream.

She used 3 bowls of straightener, without diluting it. My hair from near roots to ends was covered in white cream. She did not apply any cream on my scalp, and splashed any cream to my face and neck.

She used strength to pull my hair to straighten it while ironing from roots to ends. She ironed bit by bit and repeatedly until my hair was super straight and flat.

She used 2 bowls of neutralizer to fix my ironed hair. She added water into the neutralizer, but not as diluted as Joanne’s. She picked up my hair to apply, layer by layer.

Lasty, she applied a handful of hair serum onto my hair. She applied so much that my hair became oily.

She brought out all the products to show me.

Xiao Yan was very generous with the products and used full concentration when rebonding my hair to ensure my hair was really flat and straight.

Here are pictures showing her good skill.

My front is flat and straight.

My back is flat and straight, with layers.

There are no frizzy flyaways.

My hair felt really light. It was very soft, smooth, glossy, flat, silky straight and bouncy. Regardless of how strong the wind blew, my hair fell back to its place. The straightness lasted me for more than a year.

This is the hair I got from all my previous Shiseido Hair Rebondings at different salons.

Shiseido Hair Rebonding done by Joanne

After Joanne washed my hair, a bowl of hair treatment was already on the trolley cart. She applied only 1 small bowl of diluted cream on my thick and long hair which was not enough. She kept forcing the cream to spread on. There was not a single bit of white cream on my hair.

When she showed me the hair treatment cream in the tub, it was thick. But when it was in the bowl, it was diluted. Obviously, someone has helped her to scoop the treatment out to the bowl and added in a lot of water.

After she rinsed off the hair treatment, a small bowl of straightener was already on the trolley cart. She started by applying the cream onto my scalp and splashed the cream all over my face and neck. My scalp was burning hot and itchy. My face and neck turned very red and itchy. It was so painful and uncomfortable. She used only a small bowl of cream on my thick and long hair. She applied the cream on the top part of my hair and used a hair steamer to heat up. Later, she held together the next half of my hair below and briefly rubbed the very little of remaining cream on it. After 1 minute, rinsed off.

She did not use any strength to pull to straighten my hair when she ironed. She took a whole lot of hair as wide as the iron plate to iron at a time and lightly went through it. She only ironed each part one time.

After ironing, she looked at my hair for a while and told the other stylist that my hair was not straight. I heard her so I asked her to iron again. She said ironed one time was enough.

She went to the cabinet. Instead of taking out the neutralizer to pour into the bowl, she put the bowl inside thecabinet. From the mirror, I saw her peeping at me from the cabinet door, behaving like she was scared of showing me the cream.

She added so much water into the neutralizer that it was extremely diluted. It was like patting water on my hair. As usual, she splashed it all over my face.

The way she applied the neutralizer was unusual. Other stylists would pick up my hair layer by layer to apply. She did not pick up a single bit of my hair. She patted it on top of my head, briefly rubbed through my hair and combed a little on the outer layer.

Lastly, she pumped twice the hair serum and forced these 2 drops to spread on to my entire hair.

Here are pictures showing Joanne’s unprofessional skill.

Immediately after rebonding, my hair looked like this.

My front is not flat and straight. It is frizzy like wire.

Both sides are not straight and flat.

My back is not flat and straight.

From side view, my back looks like duck butt.

It is frizzy with tons of flyaways.

After a first wash, it becomes more frizzy, puffy and curly.

My hair feels so heavy. It is rough, dry and keeps tangling. Whenever I touch my hair, hair falls out of my head. When the wind brows, my hard hair will never fall back to its place.

This is the very first time I got this ridiculous outcome from a Shiseido Hair Rebonding.

Joanne made my hair much worse than my natural hair.

I empathised to Joanne that I wanted a super straight and flat hair. I even showed her 2 pictures. Yet she made my hair puffy and curly at the bottom. My sides slant to the back. My entire hair is so frizzy with tons of flyaways.

When I said I wanted my hair to be layered like Xiao Yan’s cut, she said it was impossible.

Guess she fixed my hair to her liking. She mentioned she hated her flat hair so she made it as puffy and curly as possible.My Questions

I have done Shiseido Hair Rebonding since it first debut in Singapore. It has a strong chemical smell and the smell will last for 3 days. I can smell it even after washing my hair. This time, the cream smells exactly like the town council cleaners pink colour soap water, which they use to mop the lifts, lobbies and pavilions of the housing estates.

When I did the rebonding, the Shiseido creams were nowhere in sight. If Shiseido did not change the scent, then they cheated me. That was why she kept hiding the creams away from my view. The result was so different from all my previous numerous times of Shiseido Hair Rebonding.

Joanne was with me the whole time, I wonder who was the person who put the creams on the trolley cart and added in so much water.

Never once I met a stylist who did not use any strength to pull to straighten my hair when ironing, and ironed my hair only one time and used so little cream.

Instead of applying, she patted the cream onto my hair. That was why the cream was all over my scalp, face and neck.

My Thoughts on Joanne

No water must be added to dilute the hair treatment cream. If it was applied thickly on my hair, my hair will not be so dry now.

She should ironed a little hair at a time and used strength to pull to straighten it when she ironed from roots to ends, then my hair will not be so puffy and curly with tons of flyaways.

When she realized that my hair was not straight, she should iron it again, which she did not.

She should apply the straighter cream thickly on my hair, which I did not see a single bit of white cream on it. With no more cream on the brush, yet she kept stroking my hair to force the cream to spread on.

When applying the neutralizer, she should pick up my hair to apply on the inner part first and slowly let down part by part to apply.

This is my very first time meeting a stylist who is very stingy with the products. She is so lazy to follow the correct step by step procedure. She did everything in a rush and short cut.

The straightener that Joanne applied on my scalp gave me patches of burns. Some parts of my hair broke off from my scalp.

All my previous Shiseido Rebounding gave me super glossy, soft, smooth, flat and silky straight hair, with not a single strand that was dry and frizzy. This is the very first time that a Shiseido Hair Rebonding has made my hair dry, rough, hard and curly .

Joanne skill is ruining the good name of Shiseido products. However, I have a strong feeling that she cheated me on the brand used. Shiseido creams will never give such ridiculous bad result.

One more thing, I was coughing a bit in the salon. Joanne went to the stylist at the dressing table beside me and whispered to her. The stylist replied loudly, wear a mask. I heard Joanne telling her that the germs from my cough would spread to her. Please lah! When I stepped in to the salon, she was already coughing and yet ate so much chilly with the hainanese chicken rice. The chilly has made my nose itchy, of course it would make her throat itchy too. She kept complaining the chilly was so hot when she ate.

I would say Joanne is ignorant and very lazy. She only cares about her chit chatting, gossiping, quarrelling and argument with the other stylists. And of course her lunch. She mentioned so much about the store selling her favourite hainanese chicken rice. It is so nice that she has to eat it everyday. She must have a white chicken wing and a drumstick with the rice, and lots of chilly.

I sat there for hours and she did not offer me a drink. Even if it is a cup of plain water, I will be happy.

My Conclusion

This salon used to have young skilful and hardworking female stylists. Now their stylists are all elderly women from China. Guess Joanna is a Malaysian, she kept boasting of how delicious Malaysia’s foods are and she will definitely eat them when she goes back. This new batch of stylists cannot even do their hair and dress well. They are lazy and love to bad mouth about the customers after they left.

I remembered July 2010 morning when I accompanied my hubby to have a hair cut at this salon, it was his turn already and 3 girls walked in to ask for the price of rebonding. Upon agreeing with the price, Ah Koon told the 3 girls to take the seats each at one dressing table and told the stylists to do their hair first. Then he told my hubby to wait longer . My hubby was so furious that he walked right out of the salon. Ah Koon sat at the counter like a King. He did nothing but commanding the stylists to serve the customers. He could have cut my hubby’s hair himself.

Now their working style is different, they take turns to serve the customers. Though Ah Koon stay put at the counter, he will serve the customer when it is his turn.

I am deeply upset when I see other ladies on the streets with beautiful glossy, soft, smooth, flat and silky straight rebounded hair.

I do not have the courage to enter this salon again. I have the most extreme feeling of being cheated by H I Salon.

1 comments:

Hi salon sure need to give some customer service training to their stylists. I was at Hi Salon Bt Gombak and the stylist sold me a bottle of hair spa cream @ $80, and I was surprised to check the retail price is only $25.